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HI SUNNY 43.5 MY FRIEND YOU ARE THE BEST FOR THE SUNROOFS AND I GOT MY BMW X5 REAR SUNROOF FIXED WITH YOUR EXPERTISE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I have a slight issue though if you can help me its in regards to the sliding shades that cover the sunroof were not closing either so we were trying to close this but the rear and the front shades have seperated from each other what can be done if you can please let me know or email me at singh_player1@hotmail.com. THank you once again. Kam

The prices you quoted here in Australia are way out of the park today , I recently replaced a whole unit that was sourced through a used car warranty claim . The cost of the whole unit is closer to $6500 plus fitting and thats around 6 hours . I have also replaced various parts in the X5 series and they are a bloody nightmare the plastic are the main problem as they become brittle with age and no amount of lubrication will slow down the inevitable failure . As I work on sunroofs every working day I see this problem more and more as the cars get older , the plastic parts just don,t stand up to the summer heat and they are out in the sun for 8 plus hours a day and they just get cooked . replacing a whole roof is fairly easy as its a whole component so you are not working with the internals . If you have to dismantle the roof to replace certain parts that BMW sell there is around a 90% chance that some other component will break while dismantling the roof , usually the parts are only held together by the fact that they are held in the tracks , remove them and you end up with lots of parts in pieces. The interconnection of the parts is a nightmare the sunshades are driven partly by nylon cord and if one part of these breaks its goodnight Irene . 42 years experience with sunroofs has taught me to treat these things with kid gloves and s&*t loads of respect .

Hello Howard,

Mate I am in Sydney and agree the plastics on my car are all cracked and need replacing before further use. A rebuild kit would be suitable could you advise where I could purchase spares. Overseas is fine dont mind the wait.
Regards
Doug

I do not know whether the rear of my panoramic sunroof is defective or not. But...... I bought the 2005 X5 from a second hand dealer who told me the sunroof was defective and was disabled.

I got home after an extended period and had to replace the two year old BMW battery due to a dead cell.

I played with some of the unfamiliar buttons throughout the vehicle learning new things.

Then I discovered a ghost in the machine.

One day I was just sitting in the car. No key in the ignition. No button pushing. Nada.

The front sunroof window opened. So I went to the BMW manual I had found online, and I went to the Bentley manual I got to help me put in the OEM trailer hitch. It was in the Bentley i found how to use the manual hex method to close the front sunroof. It was at that point I learned the dealer had just disconnected the activation buttons. The motor was still hooked up.

I closed the front sunroof. What I could not do was to return the headliner piece to the front. It is all in the back. Even in October Florida sun is blasting through the sunroof window.

Can anyone tell me how to get that piece of headliner out of the back?

I might even get adventurous and use Howard's solution for the rear one.

Hey there don,t panic if your X5 does develop the problem described it wont cost any thing other than five minutes of time to sort out , but if you go to BMW dealer then you will pay pay pay if you get them to try and fix it . Howard [Australia]

Hi all from down under , I have spent 30 years plus working with sunroofs and only recently did I figure out how to solve the malady of the X5 sunroofs being stuck open . DO not spend the ridiculous money that dealers and the like want to rob you of , the fix that I have discovered is so simple it that I am surprised it hasn,t been disclosed before . First thing to point out here is that the repair will render the rear part of your sunroof totally inoperable , what I mean is that you can still use your shades and slide the front glass open and tilt the front glass but the rear will remain permanently closed . Obviously if there is any other problems with your roof other than the rear stuck open this will not help. As a newby on this forum I will not disclose the fix in public if you wish to find out please feel free to contact me and send me your email so I can send the photos and details . The fix can be done by any one with some simple home tools and believe it or not takes no more than five minutes to do . Howard

Originally Posted by sunny43.5
Hi all from down under , I have spent 30 years plus working with sunroofs and only recently did I figure out how to solve the malady of the X5 sunroofs being stuck open . DO not spend the ridiculous money that dealers and the like want to rob you of , the fix that I have discovered is so simple it that I am surprised it hasn,t been disclosed before . First thing to point out here is that the repair will render the rear part of your sunroof totally inoperable , what I mean is that you can still use your shades and slide the front glass open and tilt the front glass but the rear will remain permanently closed . Obviously if there is any other problems with your roof other than the rear stuck open this will not help. As a newby on this forum I will not disclose the fix in public if you wish to find out please feel free to contact me and send me your email so I can send the photos and details . The fix can be done by any one with some simple home tools and believe it or not takes no more than five minutes to do . Howard

Same issue here rear part is stuck opened. Can you email me how to fix it instructions with pictures at chouprinov@gmail.com I would really appreciate it. I live in Europe now and Its getting really cold here and the car is parked outside.
Thanks.

After reading all 8 pages of this thread -- clearly this is an issue for most if not all owners of the e53 x5 . I have a 2006 x5 and the sun roof does not work.

While I can understand the joy that most people express when there roof is finally able to close -- i cannot understand why owners are accepting of have only a partially functioning sunroof. Its mind numbing to pay for a luxury SUV and yet the sunroof only works partially. How often to most people use their sunroof anyway? This sunroof was poorly designed and conceived and should be redesigned and recalled. The dealerships either dont know how to repair these sunroofs.

The dealerships seem to have no idea how to fix the sunroof only to install a new "cartridge " at over a 5000 expense. I would encourage everyone who has posted here to please email the below and explain that you feel this is a defect with the x5 and worthy of a recall. You may wish to indicate that the handling of this complaint will influence further BMW purchases.

The canned response will say " go see your dealer" so make sure you mention you have already visited your delaership and recd a 5000+ estimate --

Hi Juggler greetings from Down Under in Australia as the poster of the repair-modification I can sympathize with every ones predicament . But you will find that like most German companies and others unless its a safety issue they will not bother with a recall . The main problem is there are two words to remember "Planned Obsolescence " its a common phrase these days nothing is forever and the BMW sunroof problem is just one in along line of issues I face every day in the sunroof industry . As a matter of interest the rear glass only tilts and to most people the loss of this action is not to important . Here in Australia the BMW dealers will only either close the roof or replace the whole assembly and its over $6000 for the part and at least another $1400 for the dealer to install it . I have experienced the lack of interest in manufacturing faults my self I own a couple of VW Transporter vans one manual one an automatic , the auto fitted van has failed after only 135000 kilometers and VW want $11000 for a new box plus fitting . It turns out that like others the auto is "Sealed for Life " and they will not service them result the oil decays and debris from moving parts inside block the filter and lo and behold total destruction is the result and after 2 months emailing VW Australia and Germany they just don,t give a rats arse about the issue and just hang you out to dry . So an over fifty thousand dollar van has been reduced to a near worthless state . It has been repaired but still cost ten thousand . Add insult to injury I was offered between $4000 and $8000 as a trade in because the VW dealers know the auto will be a problem . Type in VW DSG and enjoy the joys of VW making dud autos . Good luck with your Sunroof . Howard

Agreed -- but this strategy that BMW has does have consequences. Stuff like this makes me and Im sure others NOT want to buy another BMW. Someone in this thread mentioned BMW North America was rude when contacted -- I find that utterly disappointing.

I havent looked at Audi in 10 years but did you notice the Audi sales numbers ?

Hi Howard - my sunroof is stuck exactly as you describe. My email address is robinamurray@gmail.com if you would like to send me the magic solution.
Many thanks,
Robin

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunny43.5

Hi all from down under , I have spent 30 years plus working with sunroofs and only recently did I figure out how to solve the malady of the X5 sunroofs being stuck open . DO not spend the ridiculous money that dealers and the like want to rob you of , the fix that I have discovered is so simple it that I am surprised it hasn,t been disclosed before . First thing to point out here is that the repair will render the rear part of your sunroof totally inoperable , what I mean is that you can still use your shades and slide the front glass open and tilt the front glass but the rear will remain permanently closed . Obviously if there is any other problems with your roof other than the rear stuck open this will not help. As a newby on this forum I will not disclose the fix in public if you wish to find out please feel free to contact me and send me your email so I can send the photos and details . The fix can be done by any one with some simple home tools and believe it or not takes no more than five minutes to do . Howard

I live in Melbourne Australia and have also encountered this problem. I was quoted $2500 to fix it, and then another quote of $2300. However there is someone in Melbourne who will do the fix by disabled the back part for $350. Please contact me if you need details

Hi Edmonton you can close the roof your self just sit in the back seat with blinds open look under the rear glass you will see a metal fitting which has a tapered end on the front like a ramp you will also see a small hole in it . All you need to do is use a screw driver to push this ramp reawards do each side a bit at a time as the ramp moves the glass will close . Now remember do not use the roof again as the first time you use the vent position it will push the glass at the rear back up again and to close you will have to do the procedure all over again . If you wish to do the repair I mention yourself please send me your email adress and I will send you the instructions and photos it only takes five minutes to do and afterwards you will still have a fully functioning front suroof panel which will slide and tilt along with the blinds working . The fix only disables the rear glass leaving every thing else working normaly without the rear one going up and staying up any more . Regards Howard

I just tried this after hours of frustration and it work perfectly to manually force close my back sunroof. Many thanks

I have just received the email lfrom this gentleman and later I will try to post a video of my pano that could not close so that everyone has and idea what is the problem.
"Hey guys if you go to page two of this thread and scroll down to the bottom the repair with photos is all there Regards Howard"

Hi all from down under , I have spent 30 years plus working with sunroofs and only recently did I figure out how to solve the malady of the X5 sunroofs being stuck open . DO not spend the ridiculous money that dealers and the like want to rob you of , the fix that I have discovered is so simple it that I am surprised it hasn,t been disclosed before . First thing to point out here is that the repair will render the rear part of your sunroof totally inoperable , what I mean is that you can still use your shades and slide the front glass open and tilt the front glass but the rear will remain permanently closed . Obviously if there is any other problems with your roof other than the rear stuck open this will not help. As a newby on this forum I will not disclose the fix in public if you wish to find out please feel free to contact me and send me your email so I can send the photos and details . The fix can be done by any one with some simple home tools and believe it or not takes no more than five minutes to do . Howard

Sunny, can you send me the info in how to close permanetly the rear glass of the sunroof, I would apreciated. thank you.